Recent years have witnessed a tremendous growth in the use of open source software to address almost every computing requirement. Not only have the open source software opened up avenues for students to access cutting-edge technology, they have also put forth huge volumes of reference material and guiding information on the internet. The workshop 'How R you doing?' will demonstrate the advanced statistical and graphical capabilities of the open source R platform.

This workshop is intended for students who are familiar with basic statistics and want to carry out analysis on ecological data. It will be useful for students who have not yet had a chance to use R to analyse ecological data. The workshop will also benefit those who have tried using it but found it overwhelmingly difficult to get started.

Most of us get intimidated by seemingly complex botanical terms and scientific names that are hard to remember. However, it is not essential to know these terms or remember the scientific names for plant identification. For those of us who think that all plants look alike, you will be surprised by the incredible number of morphological characters that help us distinguish one species from the other. All it takes is a little curiosity and a keen eye for careful observation of the right characters and you will immediately realize that plants give a large number of different clues to their identity and uniqueness.

The science of identifying plants is similar to the logic of scientific deduction. Every plant exhibits a wide range of morphological features that can be viewed as signatures of each species. A combination of such features makes every species unique. These features are just like clues to solving a mystery, the mystery of decoding plants affinities and familial relationships. Our job then as a detective is to merely follow a fixed sequence of enquiry, which is nothing but a step wise process that guides us as an investigator from one clue to the other, helping us eliminate competing hypothesis at every step and taking us closer to the identity of the species.

In this workshop we will familiarize ourselves with this process of deducing/inferring the affinities of a plant, and revise (learn) some basic botanical terminology and characters introduced in the Basic Plant Identification Workshop) that guide us to the identity of different species or at least help us narrow down our search to a handful of species by eliminating the rest.Our goal for this advanced workshop is to be able to deduce the most common/prominent families of tropical forest plants.

The workshop is designed for students who are either genuinely interested in plants or need to familiarize themselves with some basic plant identification techniques, as a part of addressing a larger question of interest. The workshop will not give importance to putting a scientific name tag on a plant. Although that is the final result, it is not as important or informative as being able to distinguish one plant from the other. At the end of the workshop we hope to change the way you look at plants by offering you a different perspective towards approaching new and unfamiliar plants.

The workshop will have two components- first, the classroom component where we will learn the basics of plant identification, the process of inference, and elimination. Secondly, the field component where we will try and tackle the challenges of observing plants in the field. Participants interested in enrolling for this workshop need to have completed the ‘Basic Plant Identification Workshop’ on Day 1 or in the previous years of SCCS.

Researchers in biodiversity conservation and ecological sciences need to raise funds throughout their career for conducting their research. Additionally, they often need to apply for fellowship in India and abroad (i) to learn new techniques, (ii) to conduct independent research and (iii) to attend relevant conferences and workshops within and outside the country.

The field of ecology and conservation sciences is constantly evolving and has become highly inter and trans-disciplinary in nature during the last few years. Although, academic achievements, research experience, publications and strength of the proposal are the most important criteria for selection but supplementary documents do provide strong support for the application. As formal course on fellowship or grant writing is still not very common at academic/research institutes across India, hence this workshop will provide a holistic idea about fellowship and grant process.

The workshop will familiarize students with the expectations of decision makers of grant and fellowship providing agencies. We would discuss about the common mistakes committed by the students while applying for fellowship or grants and finally code of conduct that should be followed throughout the entire process of fellowship and grant writing.

Through this workshop we would discuss simple yet less discussed issues related to securing grant and fellowships such as finding a supervisor/ collaborator, making first contact with potential supervisor/s, dos and don’ts of communication with the potential supervisor or funding agency, structure and presentation of CV & cover letter, crafting statement of purpose and preparing for online interview etc.

The ecological and climate crises are not caused by one person or one institution’s actions.In this workshop, we will build the ability to probe more deeply into what causes the current issues we see, and identify underlying societal, cultural and political factors.

Axes of discrimination such as caste, class, language and gender influence what we can do in order to change the system and who we might affect.

Conservationists play a key role in bringing about action, but often replicate these structures of oppression, despite potentially having experienced them. We must examine our own backgrounds and deeply question our roles as scientists.

That isn’t to say this is all easy! That’s why this workshop focuses heavily on the doing. We extensively use theater and movement based activities to broaden the mind, activate pathways of thinking and to soothe the soul at the end of the workshop. Despite the inherent difficulty in discussing some of the topics of the workshop, nobody goes home feeling hurt or unfinished.

This workshop encourages conservationists to reimagine their own roles, utilising the Pedagogy of the Oppressed. It begins by centering each participant's lived experiences, examining the oppressions they have experienced and contributed to, the role this played in their choice of profession and their outlook towards an ideal world and a way forward.

Participants will develop a framework with which to introspect and evaluate future and potential actions in the context of both social and environmental justice. It develops the critical and thoughtful lens necessary to bring about change that does not reinforce existing power structures.

Games are a powerful tool for communicating conservation to both children and adults. Conservation organisations have begun using games to make conservation and ecological concepts behind these more engaging to the public. Games have the potential to enhance engagement and motivation because they are immersive, enjoyable, experiential, establish dynamics and can break barriers. This workshop offers a glimpse into the role of games in various aspects of conservation education and communication. It will provide a brief introduction to play-based learning and its scope or relevance to impactful learning online, offline or in the field – from sparking a connection with the natural world to communicating research, conflict resolution and community building.

The workshop will be divided into 3 segments. In the first segment participants will get acquainted with a range of interesting games developed by various individuals and organisations, bringing out the versatility of competitive and collaborative gaming to meet a range of conservation outcomes.

The second segment will focus on basic guidelines for game design.

In the third segment, participants will have the opportunity to apply these learnings in a small-group activity in which they will design their very own game.

It goes without saying that we will play a number of games in the course of the session!

Conservation research, practice and outcomes critically depend on engaging with human communities, in diverse social and cultural landscapes. Human action in relation to environment is guided by our ability to think, imagine and form meaningful relationships with other humans and the non-human world. At the same time, it is constrained and shaped by social structures and institutions, most notably by relationships of power and inequality in society. Conservation challenges, such as protected area management, ecological restoration and human-wildlife conflict, must be understood in this context.

This interactive workshop will introduce participants to qualitative research methods that are valuable in making sense of this inter-related complexity of social worlds and human action. Qualitative research paradigm follows a distinctive approach to the nature of our social reality (ontology) and how we can create valid theoretical knowledge about this reality (epistemology). Researchers build on this approach to understand and explain life-worlds and actions of human beings in different contexts, whether the forest guard in a village, the elderly leader of a pastoral community or the corporate manager who is an amateur birdwatcher and wildlife enthusiast.

This workshop will draw upon research in fields like political ecology and environmental anthropology to demonstrate the value of qualitative methods in conservation research and practice. The advantages and challenges of two key methods—in-depth interviews and participant observation—will be explored in due course. Using interactive methods, hands-on activities and role play, the workshop will discuss the significance of bias, value judgments and ‘hidden transcripts’ in researching with human subjects.

The workshop will introduce the fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and equip the participants with the necessary skills to analyse and visualise spatial data effectively. By this end, the participants will proficiently use the GIS tool to create maps, conduct spatial analysis, and make decisions.

Content
• Introduction to GIS and its Application
• Overview of QGIS, an open-source GIS tool
• Working with spatial data: importing and managing datasets
• Basic map creation and customisation

Furthermore, the workshop is structured to be interactive, with a blend of engaging lectures, practical exercises, and stimulating group discussions. The participants will be able to work with GIS software in real-time, applying the concepts they learn to practical scenarios. Most importantly, personalised feedback will enrich participants' learning journey, demonstrating our commitment to your growth and success.

A fundamental quest of ecology and conservation is understanding species-habitat relationships and predicting their distributions. In this workshop, we dive into the rapidly growing world of Species Distribution Models (SDMs) and explore how they can be used to overcome common challenges faced by ecologists, especially in data-deficient systems. Over the past two decades, the application of SDMs has been limited to a few elementary methodologies like MaxENT. Recent advances in machine learning techniques have expanded the utility of sparse presence-only datasets by helping account for low sample sizes and their typical biases, leading to an increased understanding of species in their environments worldwide.

We start with an overview of SDMs and their relevance in studying tropical data-deficient species, followed by discussions of guidelines and best practices while building SDMs. We explain the use and implementation of MaxENT and contrast it with other machine learning algorithms. We also combine multiple algorithms to create ensemble predictions and discuss combining multiple datasets to create better distribution predictions. The aim of this workshop is to introduce participants to a suite of modelling choices, their pros and cons, and good practices for their implementation and inference while cautioning them on common mishaps of SDM like overfit models and weak inference. In addition to the theory behind SDM, through a hands-on exercise where participants will build their SDMs, this workshop will teach participants to make informed modelling choices over a one-model-to-rule-them-all approach and draw reasonable inferences about species distributions.

Education, when designed thoughtfully and delivered with sensitivity, serves as a powerful tool for lasting change. It can effectively address shifts in behaviour, attitude, or knowledge, forming the foundation for successful programmes aiming for social impact.

This workshop will explore conservation and nature education in the Indian conservation sector and contexts.

The why, what, and how of utilising education theory, practice and frameworks for interventions with different stakeholders will be explored, discussed and challenged. Ongoing and past projects in various conservation, geographical and stakeholder contexts will be explored through case studies. Participants will also be introduced to tools, approaches, and assessment methods to design and implement education and outreach interventions in their field sites.

In groups, participants will design the initial idea of education interventions, targeting specific goals and outcomes.

The workshop will include a reflective exercise on the ethical considerations and conundrums in conservation and nature education in India.

Conservation is often about social and policy change, and it entails persuading policy makers to make science-led decisions for conservation. At the same time, conservation messages and data can appear confusing- there is no one solution that fits all. One of the tools for influencing decision-making is writing powerfully. This workshop will help you learn how to creatively write complex and often controversial pieces for policymakers and other diverse groups. Through this workshop you will learn where you could publish op-eds, long narratives and ecological pieces, how to organize your thoughts for this work, and how can you could get started on publishing them.

The workshop will have writing exercises, brainstorming and feedback so you can come away with a piece that is potentially ready for publication.

Through writing samples and discourse analysis given to you, you will also learn how to present your data or your work in a way that is compelling and creative while also being robust, nuanced and accurate. You will also gain insight into understanding target groups, and writing differently each time.

This workshop will not cover social media.